The election seems a tech la-la land

We might all wish that tech policies would take centre stage in this election, especially with such polarised views between the main parties about the National Broadband Network and e-health, but the truth is that tech will never be the main game.

I just spent a fairly enjoyable few minutes looking at the two parties' election ads.

Enjoyable because I got to have a bit of a laugh. (Although I only did that because if I didn't, I'd cry.) Gillard talks about moving forward, but her and her opponent's ad could have happily fitted into any year. The arguments are always the same.

In the 30-second television ad, Gillard mentions having a strong economy, stronger borders, as well as a new approach to population and sustainable energy.

"First class schools, a strong economy, a sustainable Australia. Together, let's move Australia forward," she says to end the ad.

Why, if you want to talk about moving forward, don't you talk about the National Broadband Network? E-health could have even received a look-in.

A longer speech recorded with poor sound and mobiles ringing touches on some more issues such as health services and computers in schools. So there was some tech focus in there, but it was more playing on people's desire for their kids to get a better education than any real focus on the technology itself.

With this longer focus, I wondered where the big fat elephant in the room, the National Broadband Network, was.

Tony Abbott's commercial, with its annoying music, talks about what people earn and pay in taxes. His party is trading on its perceived economic credentials.

He promises to end spending, pay back debt, stop new taxes and stop the boats.

"That's our action contract," he says. His non-action contract, more like.

So although there are a whole lot of issues on the table that all of us in the tech industry care about, such as the internet filter, such as the National Broadband Network, such as e-health, we're campaigning using a green mantra and by playing on people's fears of being swamped by refugees.

Of course, it doesn't help that the Coalition hasn't even released its alternate policy for the NBN, or decided what it wants to do about the filter.

But with such advertisements, who'd really know or care? People will just go on whose voice they like the most, or who is dressed the best. Sometimes I think there should be a compulsory election afternoon, where companies have to tell their employees about parties' policies. Or, maybe we should vote by policy. The party with the most voted in policies win.

Since we don't have a system like that, I think I might vote on the basis of the ad below.